: Wondurfel!

It's probably about time I wrote another post. It's been two months since my last one. I just haven't really thought about the blog much lately. I've been sort of distracted by things actually happening to really think about writing about it. Which I guess is good, sort of? Although it figures that as soon as I have something to write about, I forget to write about it. =P

Well, first of all; A little over a month ago, I finally met Lisa. If you've followed my blog last year, you probably know sort of who she is as I've mentioned her a couple of times. I spent most of last year trying to get to meet her, but it never happened. There was always something that got in the way, and after a while things got a bit, well... Weird. And in November we sort of went our separate ways. A couple of months passed and on Valentine's Day I decided to send her a message. To be honest I wasn't really expecting her to answer but she did, and a couple of weeks after that we met. And, well... Whatever weirdness we had before was gone. And... It was just great. We had a really nice time with each other, and she's been visiting me a few times after that. And... Yeah. Things are good. And I'm really happy. =)

Second; I've got a kitten. Chihiro surprised me one day by being very affectionate all of a sudden. That's not like her at all, as she's a very shy and nervous cat, and rarely approaches me for anything. I knew what that meant, though, so I fixed a place for her where she could give birth. And the next morning there were kittens. I've kept one, in the hope that she will turn out less nervous and shy than Chihiro. At first it seemed it would work out... But now I'm not so sure. I don't know what it is, if it's because she's "mimicking" her mother or something, but the last couple of days she's become more cautious and nervous and keeps running away and hiding when I get close to her. I hope it doesn't stay that way, I really don't want to have two cats that are like that... =(

Third; I've sorted most of the comic collection after my uncle, and sold off quite a bit of it. The geek in me doesn't really want to sell it, but... There are two reasons why I've decided to do it anyway. The first reason is pretty simple; I don't have room for all of it. I have room for some of it, and there are some that I'm gonna keep, but I can't keep all of it. The second reason is... Well, there are a lot of gaps in the collection. Some might be because my uncle just didn't buy some of the magazines, but a lot of them are because the magazines have been ruined one way or the other. They haven't exactly been stored properly since he died. And since I don't have the resources to fill those gaps, I'd rather sell what I have to others who might need to fill theirs. And then there are some comics that I just aren't interested in. I guess that's a third reason. =P

And... Hm. That's about it for major stuff, I think? I still haven't started taking driving lessons. I keep putting it off for some reason. I guess I'm a bit nervous. Driving has always scared me, so I guess it's not a surprise. I really should get started with it soon, though. I don't really have an excuse anymore, as my economy is as stable as it can be and the roads are clear. So... Yeah.

I've sort of started being more active again. I've been walking a bit more lately, although still not anywhere as much as I used to before the winter came. I haven't really been recording it either. But I've been failing rather hard lately when it comes to what and how often I eat and all that stuff. I don't know why. I need to get a grip on that again. And I will. Because damnit, I'm not gonna fall back into my old life. That's just not gonna happen.

: Walk of Life

Been quite a while since my last update now. No wonder, as there haven't been a lot going on lately. Mostly just waiting for a couple of things to happen that never happens.

I'm still waiting for the help I was gonna get with properly cleaning my apartment. Apparently, the people they had found to help me are working under the table, or whatever the expression is. Basically they don't pay taxes. And as a governmental department, NAV can't exactly support that. So I don't know what is going on there. Hopefully they figure something out soon. I've come to a point that I'm really just maintaining what I have already done. There's very little actual progress going on here.

The other major thing I'm waiting for is... Private. I just hope it happens soon. =)

As for my working out, I've tried out a few new exercises that I think works fairly well. I've also gotten an elliptical trainer, and that thing is really rough. I've tried using one of those before, but I had forgotten just how hard it is. Tried using it for the first time yesterday, and I could barely do 3x4 minutes. Actually, I couldn't, the second attempt was only 3,5 minutes. They say it's one of the best machines to use for fat-burning, though, so I hope that's true.

I was at the nutritional adviser again today, for my monthly diabetes check-up, and she wasn't very pleased with my sugar levels. She talked to my actual doctor for a few minutes, and they concluded that I should increase my diabetes medication dosage drastically. Up until now I've only taken one in the morning and one before bed. Now I have to take two in the morning, two mid-day, and two before bed. That's three times as much as before. Apparently this will also help with my weight-loss, so... Yeah. I'm crossing my fingers for that. For the next two weeks, though, I'll have to keep a very close eye on my sugar levels, in case it goes too low.

Oh, and the fiber-connection will take longer than expected. Apparently, there's a specific area that will get it first, and I'm just outside that area. They've been around setting up posts in front of all the houses that will get it now, I see them everywhere, but not one in the part of the street that I'm on. I got a letter from Telenor as well, saying that I won't get it until January. So, yeah. Bah. I guess this means that when I have LANs with more than four people, any games that require being connected to the internet will be absolutely lowest priority.

The title this time is from Dire Straits' "Walk of Life".

: That's life.

I usually try to avoid writing more than one blog post (on the same blog) in a single day, as I don't want to "overexpose" my blog. Usually this is not a problem, as I usually write three to five posts spread over a month, but right now my brain is working overtime, causing me to lose sleep again, and I just have to write it down. I'll probably wait until tomorrow morning to actually submit it, though.

Diabetes

Days like today (technically yesterday), while very nice for my overall life, is not very good for my diabetes. I spent a lot of time out of the house today, walking around, talking with relatives and stuff like that. Basically being my somewhat crippled form of social. But as a result, my rather strict eating-routines have been severely disturbed today. Last time I went to the "diet-adviser", that I go to about once a month due to my diabetes followup program, she told me that I had developed a nice rhythm in my eating habits, but also that I still ate a bit too much every time I ate. So she gave me some new advice, which was basically; Eat even less every time I eat, but also eat more often for a while. The goal, she said, was to make my stomach used to smaller amounts of food at a time, and eventually get back to the old rhythm with the smaller portions. I guess it sounds more complicated than it is.

The problem with this is that it makes my life very... Strict. While it's usually advised that people eat every three-four hours, I now have to eat every two-three hours. And when going out or visiting someone, that's quite a hassle. Today, when I was down in Dokka with my grandmother and some other relatives, I started getting hypoglycemic (low blood sugar, resulting in shaking, feeling ill) because I hadn't eaten in such a long time (which really wasn't more than about four hours, but considering the small amount I ate...), and I ended up buying an ice cream to at least get some sugar in me. And then I was invited to dinner at my grandparents', which is nice, but they were so vague about when that I again went almost four hours between meals, and again almost got hypoglycemic.

I need to make some sort of system for when I get in situations like that.

Exercise

So, April haven't been a good month for walks. Either the weather's been awful or I've been sick. Or it's been easter. So yeah, I haven't really been able to follow up on all those long walks I had in the end of March. But I'm starting to get into a nice habit of other types of exercise, that aren't weather- or health-dependent; I've started using the ancient exercise bike that I got from my grandparents, and I've started doing push-ups. The exercise bike isn't the best thing around. The speedometer/timer-panel has broken off, so I had to tape it back on, and the gear-thing is really weird, so it's really difficult getting it to a resistance that feels ok. But it's good exercise, I'm completely exhausted after 5+10+10 minutes on it. The push-ups aren't something I thought I'd be able to do, but after trying it only from the knees up, instead of full ones, I figured it's better than nothing. I can do about 3x8 of those right now, up from 3x5 when I first started.

Weird things.

I've also gotten these weird things, which I don't know if actually helps in any way. I do feel it in both my hands and arms if I use them for a while, so I guess there it at least some benefit to it. Or something.

Love-life

I don't want to talk too much about this yet, but I have met someone that I really like. Or, I haven't actually met her yet, but I'm hoping that it won't be too long until I can meet her. But I've been talking to her on and off for quite a while, and even more the last few days, and... Yeah. She seems great. I'm looking forward to finding out where this goes. Hopefully it actually goes somewhere. =)

I am a bit concerned about the age-difference, though. She's almost ten years younger than me; She turns 18 in a couple of weeks, I turn 28 in September. But... Yeah. I don't know. Hopefully, I'm worrying about nothing.

Apartment

It's getting there!

I'm still working on getting my apartment ready for LAN's again. Now you might think that it couldn't really be that much work, that it couldn't possibly actually take this much time... And you're right, it really shouldn't. I've been working on it for about two and a half months in total now (or maybe closer to just two), so I really should be done with it by now, several times over even. But it's not as simple as that. First of all; My apartment was in a very, very, very poor state when I started working on it. I had tons of junk that I had to throw away, as it was useful for nothing except wasting space. And I still have stuff that I need to throw away, only I can't without paying for it. And I don't have the money to pay for getting rid of trash. 

Second; I'm not a fast worker when it comes to stuff like cleaning. It's not that I'm bad at it (although I'm not exactly good at it either), it just takes me a long time. And due to my general physical condition (which has been getting better due to exercising), I can't do it for very long at a time. I have to take frequent breaks, which often gets me derailed, and I end up only half-finishing something. 

Combining the poor starting state of my apartment and the fact that it takes me a long time to get things done means that, while there is overall progress, the things that I've finished must be redone several times, which means that the closer I get to finishing, the longer it takes to progress further. It's frustrating. But fortunately, there's a light in the end of the tunnel. I've gotten support from Nav to get my apartment professionally cleaned, once. To get me back to a starting point, meaning I can focus on maintenance rather than restoration. This is a one time deal, and I only get this help now because I never got anything like it back when my sleep disorder was an actual problem. Back then I was so out of it I didn't even notice how bad it was.

I do now, though, and this is the one big thing that's keeping me down at the moment, to the point that it's, indirectly, one of the main reasons why the relationship between Wenche and I broke. And... Yeah. I just want to get things to a point where I can feel good about having visitors. I mean, I don't really feel too bad about it anymore, but there's still a lot of improvements that need to be done. And until they're done I really don't want to have any LAN's.

Almost ready for LAN, but not quite.

The only problem now is that I have no idea when I'll get this professional help...

Well, that was a little bit about everything that's been going on in my life recently. I've probably forgotten something, but I think this is more than enough for one update. =P

: Sugar Shock.

I don't really write a lot about my diabetes, mostly because I usually don't have a lot to say about it. But one thing I've noticed lately, because of my setback, is how my body reacts to getting too much sugar. Or at least too much sugar for me. And, I've noticed it before, it was just a lot more noticeable this time, as it's been so long since the last time I ate this much sugar. 

Headaches 

They're headaches. Not much more to say. Except that the pain feels more like it's on the sides of my head than anywhere else. It's weird. 

Blurry vision 

Don't know if this is because of the sugar itself or the headaches, but I do know that diabetes eventually, at least when untreated or ignored, can cause loss of sight, so I'm thinking it's because of the sugar. Basically, everything becomes sort of unclear and it gets very hard to focus. It's very frustrating, particularly when playing games. My eyes even hurt a bit, almost like when I've been awake for way too long. 

Muscle pain 

A short while after eating a big amount of sugar, my whole body, particularly my arms and legs, starts aching. I don't know if it's actually muscle pain, but it feels sort of like being sore after exercising, only... More sensitive, in a way. There was particularly one day where my leg was so sore I could barely use it. Tried stretching it, forcing myself to walk on it... Nothing helped. Another day my arm was so sore I couldn't even untie the belt on my robe. 

Stomach pain 

This one is actually not that common, believe it or not. But when it does happen, it feels sort of like my stomach isn't lubricated enough, if you can imagine that. Happens mostly when I drink a lot of something with sugar in it, particularly Coca Cola.  

Leg cramps 

I don't know if this is directly related to the sugar, but there are several times where I've had leg cramps, particularly at night, after eating more sugar than usual. There was particularly one night during the past couple of weeks where I woke up several times because my leg was cramping up. And during the day I had eaten quite a lot of sugar. So, yeah. They might be related. 

Foot pain 

I don't know if this is the same type of pain as the muscle pain, but it feels different. It's particularly in my toes, sort of a needle-sticking type of pain, like when your foot has "fallen asleep" and is "waking up". Again, I know that diabetes can eventually lead to problems with your feet, in extreme cases requiring one or both to be amputated. So, I'm guessing it's related to that. Not a very good sign, in that case. Heh.


Those are the most... Noticeable reactions. I know there's at least one more thing that I haven't written here, but I can't remember what it is right now. Either way, these should be more than enough to keep me from eating too much sugar. A little is okay. But what I've been doing the last month is not. Very much not. So, yeah.


On a very unrelated note; I know it's been quite a while since I've updated my other two blogs. When it comes to music, I just haven't had a lot to say for a while. I haven't really listened to a lot of music for a while now, actually. So, yeah. As for my games blog, I've sort of completely forgotten my Dungeon Siege project. And I haven't come across any new games I've wanted to play lately, or old games that I want to write about. So... Yeah. There will be updates there at some point, but I have no idea when.

: Setback.

The last month and a half, and particularly the last two weeks, have been a big setback for me. Ever since Wenche and I broke up, my self esteem has slowly gone down again. I guess that's normal after a breakup, though... Meh.

What bothers me the most is how I've sort of "fallen off the wagon", when it comes to sugar and more or less everything I've changed about my life during the last year. My weight has gone back up quite a lot, although not so much as to get back to where I was, fortunately. I feel like I'm back where I was, though, but hopefully that will change relatively fast if I only go back to doing what I've doing the last half of 2011. It's amazing how quickly things can go bad, though.

Anyway. Starting today, I'm gonna try to go back to the new me. Wish me luck.

: I return!

It's been almost 11 months since my last update on this blog. The irony is that the last 11 months have been the most eventful months in my life in years. Now, I'm not gonna go back and write about everything that has happened since then, as it would lead to a freaking massive blog post. But some of the highlights from the past 11 months are;

• The day after my last blog post I met my dear Wenche. <3 We've been together since, and I spend more of my time at her place in Gran than I do at home.
• I got into a new social services program, because of my Diabetes and Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder diagnoses, that allows me to focus on my health rather than worry about my economy, jobs, and stuff like that.
• I've turned my lifestyle around, eating healthier food, almost cutting out all candy and soda, and started exercising regularly (mainly walking) with the help of the Cardio Trainer app on my phone.
• Had a fucking awful experience with pulling a wisdom-tooth. Was in pain for almost a month.
• I've been in the Netherlands, twice. Once during the first week of June, and once in the middle of September (actually went there on my birthday, Sept 15th). We've been re-acquainted with some great relatives that mom lost contact with when they moved to Norway.
• I've started to learn Dutch. I understand a bit of it, but can't quite form any sentences yet, so I have still a long way to go. Fortunately, there's a Dutch woman here at Dokka who've agreed to teach me.
• I've started looking into the programming language C#. So far I've created a TicTacToe application that was quite successful, but I don't know what to attempt to create next.
• I've started a second blog dedicated to music stuff.

...And some more stuff that I can't remember at the moment.

Also, the day before yesterday it was a year since my grandmother, my mother's mother, passed away. It's still weird. I mean, I didn't really have that much contact with her after I moved out, but she's always been there, living in the jungle-house, and... Well, it's weird. It will be interesting to see what the new owners of the house will do with it, though. They've already removed some of the jungle. =P

Anyway, I'm gonna wrap this up now. Will try to keep updating this blog regularly again. =)